This little girl’s Happy is missing. We found the notice attached to a bus shelter near Cadman Plaza. We know how devastating it can be to lose one’s Happy. Please return it if you have found it.

This is Williamsburg’s 44 Berry Street in the booming Berry Street corridor where buidings are going up (or stalling) right and left. This one is particularly interesting because the renovation started upsetting some residents when the developer started cutting holes in the buildings for air conditioners, leading to Fear of Fedders. Be not afraid, as the developer says the AC vents will be disguised so that we’ll hardly know the building has been altered. There will be 42 rental units here with street level retail.

Be happy. See the rendering below. No Freidrich-ization here.

The BRIC Rotunda Gallery new exhibit “The New Deal, Art and Currency” runs from January 21 through March 7, 2009. Opening reception is tonight from 7 to 9 pm:

A New Deal, Art and Currency highlights relationships between American presidents and the economy, while observing how these relationships affect art-making. This exhibition takes its name from the social and economic reforms implemented by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s. For better or worse, each president affects the course and stability of the economy, and likewise, the changing economy affects the stability and reputation of each president.

BRIC Rotunda Gallery at 33 Clinton Street. Cost: Free. Gallery Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 12-6pm, during exhibitions only.

—E.C. Stephens

While some projects like Robert Scarano’s Satori get all the enlightenment attention, there are other buildings going up on Bond Street. This, for instance is 398 Bond, which makes itself quite a presence on the low-rise street. It was briefly hit with a Stop Work Order back in October, but it was quickly back in business by mid-November, per a photo of the documentation by our veteran roving Carroll Gardens/Gowanus correspondent F. Jasmin Adams. She describes the building as “the big, beige shoebox. It seems these fringe neigborhood buildings shoot up under the radar of the browstoners. This building makes me mad.” It has gone up with nary a word of protest from neighborhood activists from whom one would normally expect to hear. Well, here’s the fun part. The architect of what some people might consider a “non-contextual” building is John Hatheway. Mr. Hatheway has been very involved in the fights against the 360 Smith Building and the big Toll Brothers development and we respect his role as a positive activist force in the neighborhood, but we must say that we find it ironic that someone who has been on his side in many of his battles would unknowingly call his building a “big, beige shoebox” and say that it “makes me mad.” Which only goes to prove that even people considered neighborhood activists can, as architects, help building things that upset their allies. There have been ten complaints filed with the Department of Buildings during constructions and four violations issued. Two were dismissed; two are active.

The way things are going it will probably be easier to tell you which Park Slope restaurants aren’t for sale. (Lighten up. This is a joke.) We have, however, come across another one that is. This is a Japanese restaurant on Fifth Avenue at Sixth Street that seems to meet the description of Sakura Cafe, which is at 388 Fifth Avenue, next to Thai Sky. This listing comes from Craigslist via Brookynian:

Restaurant business for sale by owner – $249000 ( Park Slope)…RESTAURANT FOR SALE BY OWNER. Prim location in PARK SLOPE on 5th Ave & 6th St. The restaurant has been established for 4 years. Being Sold as a Setup Business with W/B Liquor License. All fixtures, inventory, and equipment are included in the purchase price 1600 SF included Garden seating area. Had just renovated. so it’s looks brand new. Lease has 7 years + 5 more years remaining with option The present rent is $3,800/month (included heat & water) * It’s seriously below the market price. Currently Japanese restaurant & sake bar but it’s great for any other cuisine or wine bar business.

The “seriously below market price” part may be a “canary in the coal mine” kind of in terms of the state of some businesses in this economy.

As the Tykes on Bikes controversy continues on Park Slope Parents, there is words of mayhem and frenzy and injury on MLK Day sledding in Prospect Park. Here’s the email that came to our attention:

I was at the big hill today in the park amidst a frenzy of mad sledders. It was very crowded, and everyone was having a lot of fun, but then a boy got very seriously hurt and had to be taken away by ambulance. Right before hand in the area where he was sledding things were getting pretty out of control, and it seemed like there were several unsupervised older kids who were “snowboarding” on their sleds, or just generally not watching out for the people when they were sledding and walking back up the hill, which was very dangerous considering how crowded it was. Just thought I’d throw it out there that if your kids are going to go up there by themselves, especially, to try to remind them how dangerous it can be if people don’t watch out and keep things somewhat orderly. I’m a huge sledding devotee myself, but it was very upsetting to see how badly a child could get hurt in a split second.

Careful out there. PSP’s Susan Fox tragically notes: “My best friend’s niece died when she hit her head while sledding (it was one of those wicked fast intertubes). Since then I insist that my kids wear helmets. It was just tragic.”

Astroland, originally uploaded by dietrich.

We got a little caught up in the MLK Day stuff and the inauguration yesterday to take note of a sight that we found especially awful and as depresessing as the removal of the Astroland rocket. Workers have been busy removing the Astroland signs from the Surf Avenue side of the amusement park. Note that the sign is being carefully crated up, so that where ever Astroland is going, it will get there in one piece. There is some irony that our Brooklyn history could end up in Australia or Pakistan and that no one in Brooklyn saw fit to find a way to keep it here. There’s an image of it starting to come down here.

While most of the attention is focused on Coney Island, Brighton Beach, which has seen its share of out-of-context development is up for a rezoning. About 50 blocks of the neighborhood with either be upzoned or downzoned, with the city preferring to dwell on protecting block where bungalows have been demolished to build some fairly nasty Finger Buildings. Whie one my agree or disagree with the thrust of the city rezoning’s (there is good and bad to all of them), the sheer scope of the territory that the Department of City Planning has managed to tackle in the first two Bloomberg terms is astounding. The rezoning area covers some 50 blocks generally bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west, Shore Parkway to the north, Brighton Beach Avenue to the south and Corbin Place and Cass Place to the east. (The city’s material on the rezoning is here.) Per a city press release, “The existing built character within the rezoning area primarily consists of lower-density homes between one and three stories tall, with larger apartment buildings ranging from four- to 13-stories located along major avenues and in the eastern portion of the area. Notable within the rezoning area is an approximately 9 block area of small, distinctive, one- to two-story bungalow-style cottages, many of which are arranged along narrow pedestrian lanes. The neighborhood is served by a thriving commercial corridor along Brighton Beach Avenue and by retail along Neptune and Coney Island Avenues.”

Read the rest of Amanda Burden missive ahead, plus (real excitement) the zoning map!

[Photo courtesy of Dan Ross]

These are the Brooklyn Steppers going past the Presidential Reviewing Stand during yesterday’s Inaugural Parade. Photographer Dan Ross writes: “Through an unexpected turn of events, I found myself directly facing the presidential reviewing stand at today’s inaugural parade. Here are the Brooklyn Steppers struttin’ their stuff for the new administration. Unfortunately, Michelle has her back to the parade and is obscuring President Obama, but the rest of their family as well as the Bidens are clearly visible.”

[Photo courtesy of jackszwergold/GL Flickr Pool]

The Barack Obama mural in Prospect Heights in the snow equals both a snow picture and something that is politically topical. Perfect.

Yes, it’s off-topic, as they say. But what joy we take in going off-topic this way.

Here’s the scene today at BAM as President Obama was sworn in. Joyful is one word that comes to mind.

To get back from today’s lofty history, to the ridiculous, we have the continuation of the discussion about the little ones riding their bikes on the street or sidewalks of Park Slope. Here’s one Park Slope Parents email:

I have two children aged 7 & 10 and I always ride on the sidewalk with them to get to the park b/c it is not safe in the street. We try to choose blocks that are wide and are less populated. It is always extremely stressful to ride bikes with children, and I would rather risk a ticket than ride in the street. Additionally, would anyone expect a small child to ride in the street by himself? Sometimes my children ride up and down the block on the sidewalk on their own for fun. Would anyone tell a child they could not do this?

However, a good compromise for bike riding with your children to get from home to Point B is for the parent to ride in the street while the child rides on the sidewalk and meeting up on the corners to cross. I have done that before with much success.

And there’s this:

I won’t let my kids ride in the bike lanes. They use the sidewalk while I ride in the lane. We moved to Brooklyn when they were 8 and 5, so we were past the bike seat phase. I frequently watch cars use the bike lanes to get around other traffic or in preparation to park without looking for cyclists. I’d like to have bicycles be our primary transport, but I am too afraid of drivers to do so. We live far enough
from the park that walking with our bicycles would be a hassle. Biking for pleasure is unfortunately not part of our lives here. It just feels too stressful and dangerous. Brooklyn has a way to go to be
bicycle friendly for families. Children can legally use the sidewalk until age 12.

And so it goes.

Chivalry? OMFG:

Chivalry is back to stay – w4m – 30 (Brooklyn)
On the morning of January 9th, i was taken back by seeing a young man giving up his seat to an elderly Asian woman. i hardly see that lately so i stayed with me and prompted me to write this down. To you, young lad with great manners and great style. you had a gray jacket on, kool growing beard and oversized shades with nike leather kicks ( you actually have tasting style) thank you for showing me that such acts are still happening and thank you for making me smile.

History is made in many ways.

[Photo for GL courtesy Deborah Matack]

Back to Brooklyn, from history being made in Washington. We got an email from the Chair of Nathan’s famous, in effect, calling BS on stories that its flagship stores at Surf and Stillwell Avenue could be history. The zoning for the site (allowing a bigger building) has been part of the plan since November 2007. Here’s the statement emailed to GL Nathan’s Famous chair Eric Gatoff:

“Nathan’s Famous supports all efforts to revitalize Coney Island. We remain committed to Coney Island in the long-term and we fully intend to maintain our historic flagship restaurant at 1310 Surf Avenue, which has been the heart of the company since it was established in 1916.

“As to the latest report issued by the City, we believe the information relating to Nathan’s Famous is being misinterpreted and that there is no intention to replace or demolish our flagship location. In fact, the Coney Island Development Corporation’s own drawings of its intended redevelopment continue to show Nathan’s Famous in the same location on which it has stood for 93 years, on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, at the front door to the “People’s Playground.”

“In the near-term, we will work with all involved to ensure that visitors to Coney Island experience the same magic this summer as they always have. Coney Island is open for business, it will continue to be open for business, and Nathan’s Famous will be there for its customers as it has been since 1916.”

This is not the first time Nathan’s has said they aren’t going anywhere.

There have been times when we never thought we’d live to see the day when a true paradigm shift happened in American politics. Yet, here we are. The long and terrifying nightmare that began with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and took a slight turn for the better through the Clinton years in the 1990s is finally over. By the end of today the catastrophic and awful administration of George W. Bush will be relegated to the pages of history books that are yet to be written. We know deep in our soul that their conclusions will not be good. They will dwell on the fundamental ways that our most basic civil liberties were eroded, a policy of American aggression that will only succeed in creating a new generation of terrorists and fundamental failures to truly secure our nation. They will also, sadly, focus on the Bush Administration’s eight years of looking the other way while a quarter-century of excess on Wall Street and in the financial industry led to one of the greatest American financial and economic catastrophes in history. Many of us are suffering personally and things will only become worse as 2009 goes on.

Yet, as Barack Obama takes the oath of office, with the promise of the most fundamental shift in America politics since Franklin Roosevelt took over from Herbert Hoover at the outset of the Great Depression, it is fair to say that our long national nightmare is over and that the promise of growth and hope is ahead of us.

We are personally grateful that God has allowed us to live long enough to see this day come to pass. We mourn for a lot of wonderful people who we have known who did not live to see this day and we feel pain deep in our souls for being unable to share this moment of glory with people in our lives who have meant a great deal to us. We wish we could collect all of them in one room and celebrate this great moment together. Last night, we cried like a baby when we watched the clip of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Speech.” I suspect we will shed tears, for many, many reasons today as President Obama gives what we suspect will be one of the greatest Inaugural Speeches in American History.

All we can say is that the Promised Land of which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke so eloquently the evening before he was martyred is before us in so many ways. God bless you, President Obama. Godspeed. And may God protect you and give you the wisdom to make us whole again, to inspire and to be one of the great leaders of this century.

Now, stop reading GL, and watch the inauguration. There is nothing going on in Brooklyn at this moment that is more important than what is happening in the Nation’s Capital, where we lived for so many years. Revel in the profound winds of deep change blowing across our land.

On Second Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.

No sooner had embargoed new renderings from City Planning landed in the GL Inbox yesterday afternoon than an email showed up from the Save Coney Island group, urging opponents of the zoning scheme to attend tomorrow’s meeting. (The image above is a download that people were asked to print and bring to the City Planning Commission meeting.):

On Tuesday, January 20th at 1:00 PM, the City will make a formal presentation of its zoning plan before the City Planning Commission. This is the formal beginning of the public review process which will alter the zoning of the Coney Island Amusement District. This process will determine wether Coney Island remains an Amusement Park or if it will become another shopping mall filled with retail, high rise buildings and hotels. This presentation is open to the public. We need Coney Island lovers to show up to this meeting with “save coney island” signs (which you can download at the link below) to make our presence felt. We want to put the City on notice that people are paying attention, and that we won’t let their plan be pushed through the zoning process without opposition. The Coney Island rezoning is the first item on the agenda and it should not take more than 30 minutes. Please note that this is not a protest. If we are too disruptive, we will be thrown out.

The meeting is in Spector Hall at 22 Reade Street.

This is “a rendering of new Wonder Wheel Way which will provide a direct connection between the Parachute Jump and the Cyclone via the Wonder Wheel.”

The seven-month land use review process for the Coney Island rezoning and redevelopment plan starts today. (GL is the only blog to reproduced all the new renderings early this morning.) The formal meeting is at 1PM, curiously scheduled shortly after Barack Obama shoud be concluding his inauguration address. There will be as series of pubic hearings and the plans will go before the local Community Board, the Borough President, the City Planning Commission and ultimately, the City Council. It will all take place against the background of negotiations with developer Joe Sitt about acquiring land that is key to the city’s plans and summer seasons in 2009 and beyond that could become utter disasters without intervention by the city to avoid vacancy, evictions and developer-caused blight. It’s interesting to note that the rendering below, we’ll call the V.4.5, the East on the Eyes Edition, the Astrotower remains. Our reaction to the renderings is positive, although we think they understate the possible scope of high-rise development. There will be a 27-story height limit, which means nothing will be tall than the Wonder Wheel and new paths to connect iconic attaractions.(The Post somehow claims the famous Nathan’s location is endangered, but the rezoning of the property has always been known and the Handwerker family owns the land and its fate in its own hands.) They seem to be on the right track in envisioning a realistic scenario for the amusement core. Coney renderings have come and gone, however, and there is no more reason to believe that this vision will be any closer to what actually happens than ones that have surfaced over the last several years.

“Boardwalk looking east towards the 27-acre entertainment and amusement district.” Note the projected level of development along the boardwalk past the historic Chid’s building. This rendering also hints at the presence of a couple of high rises.

The rest of the city’s new renderings ahead.

[Photo for GL Courtesy of Deborah Matlack]

Of course, Prospect Park in the snow with someone riding a horse. What else would you expect?

A couple more snow shots ahead.

[Photo courtesy of Meg Groome]

This photo shot in the Slope last night almost looks like it’s from another era. Beautiful.

[Photo courtesy of chadwbecks/GL Flickr Pool]

Gowanus tundra, indeed.

Not sure what to do to celebrate the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States and the blessed departure of W? Well, one option is The Brooklyn Inaugural Ball at the Bel House. It takes place tomorrow night from 7PM-11PM and it’s a benefit for PS 261, which may explain why tickets are $75. Per an announcement on the PS261 website:

Hosted by the PTA of PS 261, www.ps261.org and co-sponsored by Madiba Restaurant and Mikeanic Productions. Announcing The Brooklyn Inaugural Ball benefiting PS 261. The event is taking place at The Bell House, 149 7th Street between 2nd & 3rd Avenues in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, (718) 643-6510. The evening will consist of a toast to Obama following the rebroadcast of his Inaugural speech, wine, food and live show by spoken word artist Karen Gibson Roc, and live music will be provided by a South African ensemble. From 9pm – 11pm there will be a live DJ for dancing.

Tickets are available here.

A rather poignant journey from Crown Heights, down to Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and then across the bridge at set to a sad and beautiful song.
—E.C. Stephens

Where were you when you watched this? We’ll never forget where we were.